Traveler of the Abyss
by Clandestinespy
Summary: A poor girl lives on the world of Aion. She has lived a harsh life, being isolated from her peers and seeing her brother die. Her life seems to always go wrong, until a certain magic happens near her home town. A black hole in the sky will change this girl's life, forever.
1. Chapter 1

**Part I: Unexpected Future**

She ran across the open field with a sack tucked tightly in her arms. Her worn out shoes flattened the grass underneath her with every step she took. She had a scared look on her face, was she late for something? The answer was clear when she looked behind her and saw two men chasing right behind her. They were thin, and looked to be quite in shape, more so than the girl with the sack. They ran, and the two men were catching up to her pretty fast. The girl was breathing heavily as she continued to run. Her running came to a halt when she tripped on her own feet, slightly twisting her ankle as well. As she fell, everything seemed to fall in slow motion. The grass came closer to her ever so slowly, the sack flew out of her hands in front of her, and soon her face met the ground. The two men caught up to her, chuckling at her fall.

"Well, look what we got here, another peasant failing to steal our grain, what do you think we should do Morris?"

"Maybe we should throw her with the pigs. The boss wouldn't mind having deep fried Elyos for dinner tonight."

The small and hungry girl turned over on the ground, and backing up slowly, anxious, nervous, scared. She looked like she was about to cry from all the feelings she was having. She continued to back up slowly as the two men stared at her with an evil look, laughing at what misfortunes will happen to her. A small watch slipped out of her pocket and fell to the ground. The two boys stopped laughing and looked at the gold watch that fell.

"Look, is that pure gold? Where did you get this from peasant? You steal it? Grab it Morris!"

Morris went to go pick it up, but the girl snatched it up before he could. Morris grabbed her wrist and tightened his grip on the girl which caused her much pain. She wouldn't let go of the watch however. It seemed to be of quite value to the girl, not money value, but something more personal, the way she held it in her hands, not letting anyone take it from her like it was her own heart or something. Morris continued to pull on the girl's wrist, hoping she would let go, she never did. The man became more aggressive, and slapped the girl across the face, which disoriented her and made her drop the watch. Blood dripped from her nose from the impact of the hand. The watch was picked up by the other man who proceeded to inspected it. He put it up towards the sun to get a better view of it. What an impressive watch it was, smooth, golden, glass as strong as steel, and the hands of the watch were as sharp as pins. The two men were amazed.

"It's gold alright, we can make some kinah off of this, thanks peasant, you can keep the grain sack."

A tear ran down her cheek and fell on her worn out brown leather shirt. Her sadness turned into anger which turned into protection of that watch. As the two men started to walk off (who were laughing as they did) the girl stood up on her two legs firmly and dashed towards the men. She tackled the man who was carrying the watch and they both fell to the ground. She may look like she couldn't handle herself, but she's stronger than she looks. The man dropped the watch out of his grip, and the girl snatched it and ran towards the town that was nearby. The town appeared to get bigger and bigger as she ran towards it, and was beginning to become clearer yet it was still blurry from this distance. The peasant girl continued running with the watch firmly in her grip and the men still chased right behind her. Her running came to a halt again when she ran by a tree and one of the tree branches seemed to grab her shirt. She continued to try to push forward, hoping the branch would let go of her shirt. The girl continued pushing forward until she heard a big ripping sound and fell back down onto the ground. She tried to get back up, but fell down again onto her back. She stared up into the sky and the leaves of the tree, then felt a slight breeze on her body. She looked at the branch that had snagged her and saw her shirt hanging from it. She looked down at her and realized that she no longer had a shirt on, just a small bra that covered her breasts. The two men caught up to her again and laughed at her again.

"You're a clumsy one, fast one too" one man said and grinned at the girl. "You also have a nice pair there too" he continued saying as he stared at the young girl's breasts. Not only was the girl nervous and nearly about to cry, but now she was embarrassed and really felt like crying. She fought back the tears and tried not to show any weakness. She held the watch firmly and strongly in her hands.

"What do you think we should do this time Morris?"

"Take the watch, and keep the girl for ourselves" Morris said with an evil chuckle and grin.

The girl was scared, she didn't know what to do, it was check mate for her, she could feel it. She closed her eyes and continued to hold the watch. She could sense one of the men extending one of their hairy hands to grab her. Then she heard someone coming, and when she opened her eyes, a fist was being thrown into the man's face in front of her. The man was knocked over, and brought Morris down with him. The one who threw the punch didn't look like he was from the town close by. He looked about mid twenties. His clothes were new, bright, and unused. He had a white shirt on with some dark green pants and sandals on his feet. I looked at his shoulder that was facing me and it had lettering on it. It had the initials E.A.R. He's from the military, what is he doing here?

"You two better leave." The soldier said to the two men. The two men stood up slowly, and wiped the grass and blood off their ugly white faces. They both grinned, not knowing what they're about to get into.

"We were just playing a nice game of tag was all" one of the men said still grinning.

"Leave. . ." The soldier sounded serious and he gave the two men a stare they'll remember for the rest of their lives. The two men knew they would lose this fight and it wasn't worth the effort, they walked away from the girl and moved towards the horizon. The girl looked at the soldier with amazement, and relief. He looked at her and extended his hand to her. She placed her hand in his, and he helped lift her up onto her feet.

"Are you okay ma'am?" His voice was as kind as his eyes. She looked down at her legs which were slightly scratched and bruised from all the falling. Then she realized that she didn't have a shirt on, and blushed as she responded back.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you for saving me" she said in her young and innocent voice, still blushing. The soldier slipped the shirt off of the branch and handed it to her. She accepted the shirt, and covered herself with it. The back was ripped, but it could be stitched up. She stared at the soldier's face, so young and smooth, and white. He had black hair, really short black hair. He had quite some muscle on him too, but he wasn't like a stone wall or anything, but still really fit. The girl seemed ashamed to even look at the soldier, she smiled at him and looked at his shirt, which looked much better than the one she was wearing. "I have to go now, again thank you, I have no idea how I can repay you."

"Don't worry about it, those two were perverted assholes."

She giggled in agreement, and smiled at the soldier one last time before walking into the nearby town. Before she got to the entrance, she looked behind her and saw the soldier walk off. She smiled again. She was happy, really happy. She walked into the town.


	2. Chapter 2

The girl walked on brick roads, climbed over walls, went through an alley, and walked over a bridge before finally coming to her home. She walked up the stairs that were connected to the wall of a building. She walked up several stories and opened a door into a hallway full of small rooms which were locked by doors. She walked to the very end of the hall and looked at the door to her left. The writing on the door was a little faded but you could tell it said 4Z on it. The girl reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a rusty bronze key. She smoothly placed it in the keyhole on the door and turned the key which clicked and unlocked the door. The door squeaked as it opened, and when it was full opened, you could see only one room. There was a small brown rug in the middle of the room, 3 blankets on one side, and a small pile of logs with a pot hanging directly above it on the other side of the room. Hanging on the wall adjacent to the door were a few damaged paintings. There was also a woman sitting in a chair in one corner, sewing together something.

"Welcome home Azaria" the woman said. She looked at Azaria and noticed the scratches on her legs. "What happened?" Her voice sounded worried, just like most mothers who see their children get hurt.

"I fell a few times trying to get here, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Does it hurt?"

"I'm fine mom, and no it doesn't hurt."

The mother stopped asking questions and continued sewing, but she still had a worried emotion on her face. Azaria walked over to one of the blankets and lay down on top of it, face up. Of course it hurt, she thought to herself, but there was a lot on her mind right now to even think about it. Especially that man, she felt like she should have done something to show more gratitude for saving her life. Her thinking ended when her mother asked one more question.

"You're going to be aging tomorrow, how old will you be?" Azaria turned her head towards her mother, and gave her a smile as she thought about how old she'll be.

"Eighteen" she said with much pride, as if she could not wait to age.

"What are you going to do after you're an adult?" Azaria didn't respond because she didn't know what the answer was to the question. She hadn't really thought much about what she wanted to do after becoming an adult. She was poor so she couldn't get the best education, and all of the unskilled work around town was already filled. She finally figured out what to say in three simple words.

"I don't know" she said, sounding a little disappointed. Her mother sighed softly, but she understood how hard it is to live on Aion without money. A lot of people are greedy, and a lot of people are unhappy. The mother stared at her daughter for a moment. She could see her doing great things someday. She thought about the traits that were given to Azaria. Patience, determination, physical and mental strength, and beauty, were all traits that she had. Her mother was proud of her daughter. Then she thought about the tough times she had been through. Azaria lived poor, and people would hurt her because of it, she lost a brother a few years ago, and her father is barely home to see her every night. No matter what though, Azaria was strong, and she could face anything, her mother could see that in her.

"Tell me about Azaliah, mom."

"What do you want me to tell about?"

"Why did he go?"

"Your brother was a good child, but the Lords will always find death in every innocence on Aion." Azaria pulled out the watch in her pocket and admired it. The watch was actually her brother's. He gave it to her the night before he died. After his death, she has held it sacred in her arms, not letting it go for even a second. Something about it though made her feel secure. It would ease her heart and make her feel safe. As if her big brother is watching over her like a guardian angel. There is magic here on Aion, it seems as if anything is possible. She looked over at her mother, who was still sewing, and smiled. Then she stared up at the white and flakey ceiling.

_ I miss him._

Her thinking stopped again when she heard the creak of the door open. It was the father. He stayed by the doorway, panting and out of breath. The mother and daughter ran to the father to help him and to see what is going on. The father was able to speak now.

"There's a big hole in the sky! Come quick." They ran towards the building balcony which was right down the hall. They got outside and stood in amazement of the black hole that ripped the sky open. Lightning shot out of it, and there were big black clouds emerging from it too. The family, and everyone else in the town, was both in amazement and in fear. Everyone in the town hugged each other, mothers hugged children, wives hugged husbands, and neighbors hugged neighbors. Everyone in the town stared for over an hour, no knowing what might happen. Everyone decided that it was normal and that we should just go back inside. The light was turning into darkness anyway. The family went back into their room, walking behind groups of people who were also trying to get to their rooms. The girl didn't know what to believe, and as she thought earlier, anything is possible in the world of Aion. She held the watch tight in her grip inside of her pocket, which made her feel secure that nothing bad will happen. She and her parents got to the room, and locked the door.

"It's getting late, maybe we should go to bed" the mother said to her family. The father and daughter agreed, and they all slept on their blankets. Uncomfortable and cold, just like every night. Azaria laid on her blanket, and closed her eyes, and thought about her brother again as she attempted to dream.


	3. Chapter 3

Feet bare and bloody, eyes sore and open, skin torn and dull. Azaria lay flat on the floor, tired and in pain. Her stomach felt like it was full of blood, and she could even taste the blood in her mouth. She attempted to stand up, she was very slow but she managed to get on both feet. The sky was black, pitch black. There were trees placed randomly around her. And the grass felt like little pins. She looked around her, trying to figure out where she was, but before she could figure out, she began to float upwards. Unable to control her path, she flew up, and up. Azaria flew up until she was a white light popping out from the sky. She was heading towards it. When she got closer, she could see a person, a person with wings. When she got even closer, the face began to take on more detail. She could see who it was.

"Azaliah?" The girl was amazed and confused. She got closer to him, and even held her arms out to wrap them around him. He was out of her reach, and soon the light faded away, along with her brother. She fell back to the ground. She landed on her back, and a black hole emerged from the sky, right in front of her. Black clouds circled around the hole, creating lighting inside the hole. Something dropped down to the ground from the hole. Something big, really big. The girl stood up, and began to run towards what ever had dropped. She got even closer, but was stopped when she saw her brother laying on the ground in pain. She quickly moved to him, and knelt down next to him, holding his hand, and wondering what had happened to him. He looked up at Azaria.

"Forget about me, only you can stop it. Only you can stop it."

"Stop what? Stop what?" Her brother faded away again. His blood soaked the ground beneath them. She looked up and saw what had fallen. A big lizard creature was standing on its two legs, and holding a sword. It stared at the girl with anger. The girl was nervous, not knowing what to do. She began running, regretting to leave her brother behind. The creature chased right behind her. They ran, and ran. They ran until Azaria found a sword and shield lying on the ground, next to a soldier's corpse. She quickly picked them both up, and readied herself for combat. The creature charged at her, but Azaria kept her feet firm on the ground. It got closer, and when it was close enough, Azaria charged, and leaped at it. It stumbled to the ground, and as it struggled to get back up, the girl stabbed it in the heart. The creature died instantly. She believed it was over, but soon, more of those creatures came through the hole, different looking ones. Some were bigger, some were smaller. Some had bows, books, and staffs. Others had Pole arms, and swords. Some seemed to not be carrying anything. They all fell from the black hole.

_What the hell. . . What the hell!_

Azaria was frightened, if this is what her brother meant, there is no way she could take on that many on her own. She began to run the opposite direction of the crowd. She saw an army of white skinned, winged Elyos coming closer to the girl. She halted, and they ran past her. She followed in with the charge. The two armies battled each other. Men struggled, creatures struggled. Blood flew, weapons pierced, shields blocked, bodies fell to the ground. It was chaos, and at the center of that chaos was victory somewhere. The girl found it, the commander of these creatures. He was big, he was nasty, and he carried a big black staff of some kind. Azaria battled her way through the hoard, slashing her sword into creatures, letting blood spray onto her clothes and skin. She got closer to the commander, and as she was face to face with it, she began charging at him. The commander saw her coming, and smirked. He slammed his staff onto the ground, and then raised it towards the girl. Lightning shot out of the tip, and the girl was held in the air by a cage of lightning. The commander walked slowly to the girl, and laughed.

"Foolish one, you cannot hope to defeat me and my hoard" he said. His eyes began to glow yellow as he stared at the girl. Azaria was scared.

_This is the last of me._

The commander brought his staff up to the girl's face. It became a glowing and bright red color. Azaria closed her eyes as, not wanting to see her fate.

Her eyes opened, but not to that of a battle, but back in the safety of her home. She sat up, sweating, and panting. She also felt slight warmth in her pants. She continued to sit there, making sure that she was back to reality. Her breathing calmed down, as well as her body. She picked up the watch that was lying right next to her, and looked to see what time it was. The room was dark, so it was hard to see, but she could see that it was 3:00am. She stood up, and felt that her pants were a little filled with liquid, and were still warm. She went over to a pile of clothes that were lying in a corner of the room. She searched through the different shirts and pants until she found a pair of pants that fit her. She quickly took off the pair she was wearing, and put on the new ones. Thank goodness she doesn't wear underwear because the family doesn't have any extra pairs. She placed the ruined pants next to the pile and walked back to her blanket. She attempted to sleep again, but couldn't. She was still a little frightened from what she had just seen. She thought about the black hole. Maybe the dream was just a dream, maybe it was a warning, and maybe it was just her imagination going crazy. Azaria laid flat on her back, and looked at the ceiling, eyes wide open. She began to have a weird stomach pain. This didn't feel like a normal stomach pain that she had before. No, this is stomach pain is weird, as if there was some kind of worm slithering inside of her. The pain was sharp, and it didn't seem to go away. Azaria was anxious. First the nightmare, and now a stomach pain, what else will happen? She thought to herself. She held her stomach, trying to relieve some of the pain. This continued for about 30 minutes, 30 long minutes of tossing and turning on the blanket. The pain went away, and Azaria was relieved, she closed her eyes slowly, and attempted to dream again.


	4. Chapter 4

Azaria woke up to the sound of her mother washing clothes in a bucket full of water. Her eyes were awake, but her body and mind were not. She sat up in her blanket, and rubbed her eyes. She stretched her arms and yawned. Her eyes looked around the room, and then fixed themselves onto her mother. Her mind smiled at her mother, but her mouth was too tired to make a smile. Her mother looked over at Azaria, and smiled at her now aged 18 daughter.

"Good morning Azaria" she said, continuing to soak a pair of pants "You had an accident last night?" Azaria was a little embarrassed. She hadn't wet herself since she was a newborn. She didn't respond for a moment, mostly because she was tired.

"I had a bad dream." Her mother stopped cleaning so she could focus on her daughter.

"About what?"

"I don't know, a war, something scary . . . really scary." Her mother was a little confused with the little detail that Azaria gave her, but she was there to make sure that she got comfort. She continued washing the clothes while looking at her daughter. She was worried about her, just like any mother would be. Azaria continued to look down while sitting up in bed and thinking about her horrible dream. She had a certain look on her face. Anger, sadness, followed by determination. Determined for what, her mother asked herself.

_I'll be here for you no matter what._

"Where's dad?"

"Your father went out to go get food for us, then he's going to work." Azaria thought about her dream again, she couldn't get it off of her mind. She didn't understand it, whether it meant something, if she just had a bad dream, or if she's going crazy. Thinking about it also made her think about her brother. He's been gone for a long time, he was the only brother she had, and he was a damn good one. She picked up the gold watch that slept right next to her and held it with both arms, trying to remember the warmth that her brother used to give her. She smiled a little, and so did her mom who was still watching her. Azaria was slightly bored sitting in her blanket, so she got up, stretched her young and flexible body, put on a shirt from the clothes pile, and began walking towards the door.

"Where are you going, you haven't eaten anything yet."

"Don't worry about it, I'm just going to go walk around town a little, I'll be back when dad gets home." Her mother, still being worried, watched her walk out the door, on her own again.

Azaria walked around town, walking next to buildings, over bridges, through alleys, up and down stairs, through small crowds of people, and on roads. Her bare feet touched the ground beneath her, getting a little scratched with each step. She began walking over a bridge, and stopped about halfway over it. She leaned over the edge and inspected her reflection in the slightly dirty waters below. Her hair was about to her shoulders, and was a bright white color, her eyes as blue as the sky, she had a small nose, and a few scratches around her mouth, eyes, and cheeks. Her skin was white, slightly tanned, and full of scratches. Big and small scratches that distorted her true beauty. She was not offended by them, in fact, she liked them. She liked looking tough, although her face and body might not look like it, but she was tough. She smiled at her reflection who also smiled back at her. She stopped looking at the water when she heard kids running across the bridge behind her. There were thee of them. Two boys and a girl. She smiled at them as they ran, laughed, and screamed.

A clock nearby said that it was seven in the morning, which sounded about right since the sun had just came out. Azaria walked back home, scratching her feet more with every step. She finally got home, and her feet were able to take a break. When she got to her room, she unlocked and opened the door, but this time there was no one there to greet her. Maybe her mother needed to get something and she'll be back with her father soon. Her stomach began to growl at her, so she sat down on the ground and started thinking again.

_I hope they come home soon._

Azaria walked over to her blanket, pulled out her watch and placed it next to the blanket. She then laid down on top of the blanket and closed her eyes. Her stomach continued to growl at her as she attempted to take a morning nap.


	5. Chapter 5

Azaria's eyes quickly opened to the noise of people marching in unison out on the streets. She quickly stood up on her blanket and walked out the door with a confused and curious mind. What's with the marching? Azaria asked this to herself. She walked out of the room and down the hall towards the balcony. When she made it to the balcony she was greeted by blinding light and marching soldiers on the streets. They had their shields, their swords, their armor. At the front of those soldiers was a man leading them down the street. He had a darkish green armor, different from the black and white armor that the soldiers were wearing. They passed by people who were standing on the side of the street. The spectators didn't know what was happening. None of them clapped or cheered, and they seemed to have a face of confusion. They continued to stair as the soldiers marched in unison in rows of sevens down the street. Their marching came to a halt as the man in front signaled them to halt. The man in green armor stood on top of white brick near the center of the city (which you can see pretty clearly from the balcony). Azaria looked at the crowd of people, hoping she would find her parents somewhere hidden in it. There was silence, except for the few people who talked to each other, and animals making noise with their mouths and feet. Eventually the green armored man began to speak really loudly, you could here it from where Azaria is standing. As he began speaking Azaria found her parents. They were not far, so she walked back towards the stairs connected to the side of the building, and started to go through the big crowd of people.

"Fellow Elyos, I am the governor of the Elyos Army Regiment" Azaria didn't stop to listen, she wanted to be with her family. "You are all probably wondering why we are here" the Governor continued speaking in his loud but clear voice as Azaria continued lightly pushing people aside so she could get through. "That black hole in the sky is the problem, and we are here to stop it so that you all can go back to being safe" she could here him but she didn't care, she got closer and closer to her parents. "It is after something, a girl" she continued walking through the crowd. "Five foot, eleven inches" she could see her both their faces. "White hair, blue eyes" she was almost next to them. "Slightly tanned white skin" she was right behind them and tapped her mother on the shoulder who looked back, and smiled when she saw her daughter. "Her name is. . ." both the father and mother hugged her. "Azaria" Azaria's eyes opened wide when she heard her name, everything was silent, her family stopped hugging, and almost everyone in the town stared directly at her with shock. Even the Governor looked at her. "Azaria, can you please come up to me" Azaria didn't really know what to do, she looked at her parents who also went with her as they walked up to the green armored Governor. They walked slowly, unsure of what the army wants with her. The Governor stepped down from the brick, and walked firmly and confidently to the family. They both met each other and the Governor started talking. "Come with me, I'm sure you'll have questions" the family followed the Governor towards a building close by.

The inside of the building was a store, with food and ingredients decorating the shelves. A fee soldiers stood out in front of the entrance to male sure that no one else entered the building. The shop owner stood in the back of the store next to a locked door. The Governor nodded at him, and the owner opened the door, and leaded them down the stairs that appeared behind the wooden door. Down and down they went, going down in a single file line until they reached the last step. The floor was made of a grey rock, but was really smooth. A table appeared in front of everyone when the owner turned the flame on in a later on that table. There was a piece of paper on top of the wood top. The Governor walked over on the opposite side of the table and faced the family with a serious look on his face. "What do you want with our daughter?" The mother demanded to know.

"We just want to do a few tests, completely safe and pain free, and I will assure you that we will return her to you within a few days. . . completely unharmed."

"What kind of tests?" The father asked, worrying about the safety of his only child.

"Our alchemists and scientists believe that your daughter has something to do with that hole in the sky. We're just going to see what kind of power your daughter has in her that may give us a clue as to why this hole is here."

"Disection?". The mother asked softly.

"No, magic that will let us see inside of her without the need to pull her apart."

Both the parents looked at each, worrying that the safety of their daughter will be compromised, or that they may never see her again.

"I'll do it." Azaria said. Every one in the room looked at her.

"Azaria. . ."

"Mom, if this black hole is bad, then I'll help get rid of it." Azaria said, sounding serious to let everyone know that she is sure about her decision. She looked at the Governor and gave her parents a hug.

"Very well then, if you'll follow me then, we can get this done as fast as possible." She did as she was told and followed him, looking at her parents as she departed from them. Going away from her place of security and into a place of mystery to her. Her parents followed her upstairs and out the store and back out into the chaos of the town streets. They walked towards the entrance of the city and stopped at the gate. "She'll be back in a few days, I promise." the Governor reassured the parents, and walked out with Azaria. Azaria looked back at her parents who waved at her. She waved back and followed the Governor out of the town.


	6. Chapter 6

The Governor and Azaria walked for a few hours and a few miles before they reached the military headquarters. There was a tall white and rectangular building behind a tall stone wall. The two went through the gate that sealed the stone wall and walked towards the big building. A wide ramp connected from the entrance of the building to the ground. The Governor walked up it first, and Azaria followed. She was slightly scared, not knowing where she was or what they were actually going to do to her. Although she was anxious and scared, she continued to follow. There was no turning back now anyway. The only thing she can do is follow the Governor inside. Hopefully the tests won't take long.

Inside the building was one big room with a desk towards the back of the room. The floors were made of marble and had a pattern of white and red diamond tiles. In the center was a statue of a man in a confident stance and one wing on his back. There were doors all around the room, some opened, some closed. There were more smaller statues around the walls. Azaria didnt get to familiarize herself to the room since they seem to be in a hurry to get those tests started. She followed the Governor to one of the doors by the desks in the back of the room. He looked at the lady who sat behind the desk. "Let no one past this door until we are done." The lady nodded and unlocked the door next to them. When both Azaria and the Governor walked through, the lady shut the door behind them and locked it. They walked down the hallway infront of them.

"What are these tests like?"

"I've never seen them done before, I'm not the science type. They say they fast, easy, and painless, so that's good enough for me." Azaria was unsure about what was going to happen, but continued walking with him anyway. There were paintings on the walls all the way down the hall. They seemed to be paintings of soldiers and doctors. All looking serious, and their whole body looking straight at you. She glanced at each painting that passed by them on the right. None of the pictures had smiles. They finally reached the end of the hall. The next room was blocked off by a big door followed by two guards. The Governor stopped and so did Azaria. The Governor nodded at the guards and they began to unlock the door. There were two locks on each side of the door. The guards both pulled out a key and placed their keys in the holes. When they both saw each others keys in the right holes, they turned the keys at the same time. The door unlocked and the guards pushes the door open. Azaria went with the Governor into the next room.

In the room there were desks, glasses, beakers, chemicals, powder, and aether. Not only were there there powerful potions and ingredients, but there were scientists running around and testing different things. It was chaos in here, controlled chaos though (for the most part). Azaria was lead to the back of this mess and into another room. The room was quiet and there was a table in the center of the room. The whole room was a solid white. The floor was solid white stone, and the walls and ceiling was also made of the same material. There was a man next to the table waiting for Azaria. "How long will this take? We have two unhappy parents."

"I am going to need a few days in order to do each test."

"Okay, get them done as fast as you can so we can get rid of this hole and this girl."

"Lets begin then" he looked at Azaria "please lay down on this table." Azaria did as told and got on top of the table and lay flat.

_I hope this won't be painful. . . Or boring._

"All I need you to do is to stay still until the test is over." Azaria nodded at the scientist and saw the Governor walk out of the room.

"I'm ready" Azaria said, feeling a little nervous about what will actually happen. The scientist nodded and lifted both of his hands in the air. He then hovered them above Azaria. He started whispering a few words. Vin-rakka-de-see is what it sounded like he said. Balls of light appeared to cover both his hands. They were bright, and blinded Azaria for a moment. When she looked at her body, she could see her skeleton. She was amazed by the light and being able to see inside of herself. He slowly started at her neck and then slowly moved his hands closer to her toes. He stopped when he had his hands a little above her stomach. He held them there as if something was wrong. Then his facial expression made it seem like he had just found something amazing. His hands stopped glowing and he rested them on his sides. He looked at Azaria with amazement. Azaria was a little confused about what was going on.

"Wait here" he said as he walked out of the room. Azaria was now alone in a silent white room. She sat up on the table, giving her back a break from the hard and uncomfortable table top. She sat there for a few moments and thought about what the scientist might have found. She looked around the room but there wasn't much to look at besides the white on the floor and walls. She looked at her feet which were kind of bloody from all the walking. _Maybe they'll get me some shoes on the way out. _She heard the door open again with the scientist coming through, except he brought back more company. More scientists and also the Governor stepped inside. Azaria was even more curious about what they found out.

"Tell us, what did you find?"

"Our newest daeva."

Everyone was shocked, including Azaria. There's no way that can be right Azaria thought to herself. The Governor did not look so happy.

"I'd like to see her in private when you're done with today's tests."

"Go ahead" the scientist said looking at Azaria. She quickly got down off of the table and walked over to the Governor out the door. They walked down the hall a little so they could get some privacy.

"This is worse than I thought."he said, sweating a little. "If you're a daeva, then we've got more problems than just a hole in the sky."

"Why?"

"That hole connects to different parts of Aion, including Asmodae and Balauria. We don't want the war to come here, we need to plug up that hole."

"How are we going to do that?"

"We would have to go through to the other side to do it. We also need your help to do that."

"How can I help?"

"By enlisting." Azaria was unsure, she didn't want her parents to worry. Then she thought that if she didn't, not only would the war come to Elysea, but she would continue her life as a peasant.

"I'll do it" she said. "But you have to tell my parents."

"We'll make sure they know."

They walked through the hallway and passed by some scientists. "No more tests for her." They nodded. Azaria and the Governor both walked out of the building. The sun was starting to go down as they walked down the ramp.


	7. Chapter 7

They both walked down the ramp and moved towards one of the smaller buildings that surrounded the big one. The building was dull and grey, like most of the buildings here. They went inside and were greeted by soldiers, papers, maps, and voices. There were a few soldiers surrounding a table, they looked at Azaria when she entered the building. They didn't give a welcoming expression on their faces.

"A new recruit?" said the red hair woman at the opposite side of Azaria, feeling some anger in her voice.

"Feeling jealous about having another girl?" Said one of the men.

"No. . ." she said again, still with a bit of anger in her voice. Azaria looked at her and felt unwelcomed. She couldn't really see the red head girl's face since the room was poorly lit, and her hair created shadows that hid her face even more, but she could see her eyes, the eyes were looking directly at Azaria.

"Calm down everyone" the Governor said "this is our newest recruit, Azaria. She is also a daeva."

"If she's a daeva, where the hell are her wings" said one of the other men. Azaria didn't know the answer to that question and remained silent.

"It's obvious that she hasn't ascended yet. She will, and we'll make sure she gets the proper ceremony for both ascension and enlistment. Starting tomorrow you all will teach her and get her fitted in." Each of the soldiers saluted. Azaria was nervous and anxious, she never thought she'd join the army, but here she is now. All she needs is the proper training and she'll be good to go. "Mike will fit her armor, Ghost will teach survival, Fox will teach archery, and Kane will give her a bed and teach her how to fight." The Governor then saluted and walked out. Everyone lowered their hands and started walking out too. Kane was the last one to go out.

"Lets get you a bed." Azaria nodded and followed him to one of the other buildings. Inside were three rows of beds with about 16 on each of the side rows and 32 in the middle. Kane walked towards the back down the right isle and Azaria followed behind him. There were men and women already sleeping in each of the beds they passed. They stopped by an empty bed on the right. "Okay this is your bed, we'll begin training in the morning. Good night." He walked away.

"Thanks." She laid on top of the bed and looked at the ceiling. She noticed that the red hair girl walked by her and laid in the bed next to her. Azaria felt even more uncomfortable now. Azaria glanced at her for a second, and she glanced back. Azaria turned over, trying not to look at her for the rest of the night.

"Where are you from?" She asked, seeming a little bit more welcoming to Azaria.

"Elten."

"I have a few friends from there."

"Me too" their conversation died down and they both started to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Part II: Ascension**

Azaria woke up from a splash of water to her face. She felt like she was drowning and her eyes opened wide. "Wake up, sleepy" Mike said to Azaria as he poured a bucket of water over her face. "Gotta get you fitted in something pretty." By something pretty he means a full plate of armor. Azaria was still a little tired, and struggled to get out of bed. Her eyes were slightly tired like the rest of her body. "Come on rookie, lets get you out of that leather and into some plate." Mike started walking out, expecting Azaria to instantly follow. Azaria lagged behind a little but she stretched her body and caught up to Mike before he left the nearly empty room. She stayed close to him, trying not to get lost.

When they walked out of the armory there were soldiers walking all over the place. They passed by many other buildings and soldiers. Trained men and women practicing outside all around the base was a little chaotic.

They were able to get away from it when they got into the armory. Mike observed Azaria's body, seeing what would fit her. He got some pieces of metal that was in the shape of a torso, it cut in half to make two hollow parts. The front and back torso. He tried to wrap Azaria in different pieces until one fit her. "B cup breasts and small body." Mike said to himself. He then got leg pieces and tried to see how big her legs were. They were pretty small. When he got the right size he found the sizes of her feet, arms, and head. He looked at her for a second. "Six feet tall." Sounded about right, she was very tall. After he had gotten all the measurements he wrote all the measures down on a piece of paper and gave it to someone else who ran off with the paper. "Wait here till I get back with your new look" he told Azaria. She waited for about an hour and then Mike came back with hands full of armor. "Take those rags off, I've got something better." She took off her clothes and put on the fresh new plates. It was mostly black with some spots of white. After she got it on, Mike left the room and Azaria followed behind him.

They both exited the building but Azaria was tripped by a man. Ghost appeared in front of her. "Ow" Azaria said, rubbing her head.

"You'll be fine, lets go" Ghost said in a monotone voice. Azaria stood up and followed.

"Where we going?" she said as they were about to walk out the front gate.

"The wilderness" he said in his monotone voice. If he was teaching about survival, that would make sense. The walked passed the gate and away from the base.

After walking for a few miles, Ghost stopped in the middle of the forest. "Silent, don't move." Azaria did as he said, not knowing why they stopped. Ghost seemed to disappear and Azaria was now alone. She heard leaves move in the wind, bugs clicking and chirping, and feet moving on the dirt floor. It sounded like an animal's feet slowly moving towards her. Azaria didn't know if something was stalking her, but she remained still. She looked around her, there were trees, bushes, different kinds of flowers, dirt, and rocks. Growing on the trees was some moss, and some vines. Around the trees and bushes were flowers. Red, blue, purple, and even green flowers were growing all around them. Then one of the bushes began shaking. Azaria looked at it, waiting to see if something would come out of it. It stopped shaking and a little rabbit popped out of it. Azaria let her guard down and calmed down when she saw that it was only a rabbit. It ran off behind some trees and out of Azaria's sight. Then in front of her appeared a worg. Its teeth were showing and stared at Azaria. She was alone and staring down at the wolf like creature. It growled and then jumped at Azaria, but then stopped in mid air with blood dripping down its neck. Ghost reappeared next to it with a dagger stabbed in the worg. He put the animal oj the ground and slid the dagger out of its throat. Azaria was relieved to be with him again.

"Did you just use me as bait?" Azaria asked.

"I hid in the shadows and waited for the right moment, you just made it easier to get it." Azaria didn't like to be used but it was understandable. She hoped she wouldn't be used as a decoy too many times.

They traveled through the forest for a few hours. Ambushing prey, eating bugs, looking at tracks and hearing noises to get through without dying. The sun was just overhead, meaning it was half way through the day. They returned to the base and Azaria sat on the grass near some practice dummies. There were soldiers attacking the dummies, trying to practice new moves. Then someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned and saw the red hair girl's face. "Come on rook, I don't got all day." she said to Azaria with a little bit of anger in her voice.

Azaria followed her into an open field with some targets lined up. Fox told her to stand on the yellow painted line on the ground. She passed Azaria a bow and placed some arrows on the ground next to her. She pointed at one of the targets. "Try to hit the red dot in the center of that target, rook." Azaria attempted to shoot a bow, which was not the first time. She was a little nervous. She held the bow in her left hand and took one of the arrows with the right. She placed the arrow correctly in the bow slowly and aimed. She pulled the string back as far as she could and let the arrow go. It launched forward and hit the target. The arrow stuck a few rings outside the center. Fox liked that she hit the target but not where she wanted. "You missed, give me that." Fox snatched it out of her hands and took an arrow off the ground. She loaded the arrow, and pulled back the string. Her hair flew back and Azaria could see her face. White, smooth, beautiful. The wind slightly blew her hair which made her look even more amazing. She seemed to be firing the arrow in slow motion. If you made a painting or took a picture, it would be perfect. Fox closed one of her eyes and then released the string. The arrow launched and hit the target in the center. Azaria was amazed by her strength, accuracy, aswell as her beauty. She was curious why she sounded so angry. Fox pushed the bow in Azaria's arms. "Try again, rook." Azaria tried again and again. Hitting the target each time but not the center. Her teacher was getting angry with each shot. Azaria was getting tired, there were already more than 40 arrows in the target. They had to change targets. They continued to try again and again. Azaria tried one more time. She loaded the arrow, pulled back the string, closed one of her eyes, and aimed. Sweat slid down her face and she held her breath for a few seconds. She released the string and the arrow launched. It flew towards the target at a fast speed. It penetrates the target, and the arrow stuck right in the center of the target. Azaria was amazed, and Fox was shocked. They stood in place and stared at the arrow. 87th shot. They looked at each other and smiled. They hugged each other in joy. Fox stopped hugging and got serious again. "Good work, rook." Azaria was happy, and tired. They walked and got some food and sat down. Someone tapped Azaria's shoulder again. It was Kane.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah" she looked at Fox "bye Fox, see you around." Fox waved goodbye to her. Azaria followed Kane out and into another building.

Inside was just open space with weapons hanging off the side of the walls. They walked towards the center. "Grab any weapon you like." he said to Azaria. Azaria walked towards one of the walls and looked at what she wanted. She picked up a sword and a shield and walked back to Kane. He had a shield in one of his arms. "Hit me." he said quickly.

"Hit you?"

"Yes, as hard as you can." Azaria was a little unsure, she gave a soft swing if her sword and he blocked it. "Again, harder." She swung harder still being nervous. He blocked it again like it was nothing. "Harder" She swung again "harder!" she swung again. Her swings kept getting harder and harder, she started to swing in different directions. Her face looking aggressive aswell as her body. Each swing felt personal as she swung. She was getting tired but her arms kept swinging. There were many marks in the shield where Azaria's sword hit. She gave one final swing which split the shield in two. The blow was so powerful that Kane nearly fell backwards. He was amazed by how strong she was. Azaria hung her arms by her side, breathing heavily with her body slightly bent over and sweat sliding down her face. Her hair was messy and laid on top of the neck protection around her neck. "Strong arm you got there" he said to her as he tossed the broken shield on the floor "we're good for today, lets go get something to eat. Go take that off too." Azaria straighten her back and cooled down a little. She replaced the sword and shield to where they belonged and went to the armory to put away her armor. When she walked outside the sun was setting, creating a beautiful orange glow on the horizon. An explosion was heard outside the base and the hole base was on alert. A crowd of soldiers began to form to go see what the explosion was. Azaria went with the crowd.

When they got out of the base they saw a big crater a few yards away from the front. Everyone rushed to go see what it was. They huddled around it. Azaria pushes past people to try and see what it was. When she got to the front she saw the crater right below her feet. There was some smoke coming out of it so it was hard to tell what's down at the bottom. A beam of light shot out and the ground shook. Then Azaria was suddenly lifted from the ground, all the soldiers stepped backwards and watched Azaria. She hovered above the ground for a few seconds and images were being shot into her mind. They flashed really quickly in her head. The light vanished and she was knocked out. She was dropped to the ground.


	9. Chapter 9

Azaria woke up in a bed. She looked around and saw many saws, needles, tubes, small mirrors, beds, and doctors. She realized that she was in a hospital or some kind of clinic. Her head was slightly throbbing and she had a sharp pain in her upper right chest. She noticed that she was taken out of her armor and put into some military clothes. She thought they were comfortable, she noticed that she had on some new comfortable underwear aswell. One of the doctors walked over to Azaria, probably to check up on her. Azaria laid flat in the bed. "How are you feeling?" the doctor asked.

"Minor headache, but I'll be fine" Azaria began thinking "do you know what happened to me?"

"I'm not entirely sure. . .the soldier that carried you in just said you needed medical attention. He dropped you off and then left."

"How long will I have to stay here?"

"Technically you're fine and ready to leave when ever, but I did notice something abnormal inside of you" she lifted up a notepad to her face "some kind of dark magic surrounding your brain and heart."

"Is it serious?"

"I'm not sure, if you feel anything wrong like headaches or feeling like you'll faint, come to us."

"Okay, thank you" Azaria continued to lay in her bed as the doctor walked away to go see other patients. Azaria sat up in the bed and rubbed her eyes. She got down off of the bed and put on the boots she saw next to her. Her eyes looked around the room until they saw the exit. She walked out of the building and into the light of day. Her eyes were blinded for a few seconds until they readjusted. She saw many soldiers walking around, talking, training, and fighting. Then Mike, Ghost, Fox, and Kane ran over to Azaria. Fox gave her a hug and everyone was relieved that she was okay.

"You didn't look well when we brought you in" Kane said to her.

"I'm alright now. . .though the doctor said I have some kind of dark magic inside of me. Don't know how bad it maybe but the doctor said I was fine."

"Well you look fine, come, lets get you something to eat." Fox said. Azaria agreed and they went to the mess hall.

They sat down at one of the tables with a plate of food. Food was nothing special, it was like a paste that tasted like food. A white paste with green spots around it. Someone entered the building with an envelope in his hand. He ran over to Azaria and tossed it in front of her on the table and then ran back out. Azaria picked up the envelope and observed it, it had no writing on it. "What's that?" Mike asked.

"I'm not sure" she said, still looking at it.

"Open it up then." Azaria opened the envelope slowly and took out the paper that was inside. It was a map and a red circle with the words _meet here_ next to it. The location was less than a mile away. Azaria looked at her team, anxious as to why someone wants her to go to this place.

"Why do you think someone wants you to go there?" Fox asked.

"I don't know."

"I bet it's a trap." Fox said, sounding sure that it was a trap.

"I say we all go with her and find out." Kane said to the group.

"Well, doesn't say I can't go alone. Lets go find out." Azaria said.

"Alright, but if it's a trap, I'll kick you asses." Fox said, still thinking it's a trap. They left the base and began walking.

After walking for a while they were close to where they needed to go. They walked through a forest, passing by a lot of trees, bushes, flowers, and insects. Then they were shocked by what they found. Some kind of temple or tomb laid in ruins. Many plants had overgrown the many statues that surrounded the main building. The entrance to the temple was also overgrown with plants and leaves. Some of the collumns around the main building had collapsed and were also overrun with foliage. The team slowly walked up the steps together. "This place is amazing, I never knew this was here." Kane said in amazement.

"All the rubble is good for hiding behind." Fox said, still being paranoid. They walked through the destroyed temple. There was rubble inside, collapsed columns, and the ornaments on the walls were also slightly destroyed. There was a hole in the roof aswell. "An archer could hit one of us from up there." Fox said.

"Shut up, if it were an ambush, we'd be dead by now"

"Don't tell me to shut up, you ass."

"Enough, both of you." Kane ordered. They both stopped talking and continued walking through the temple. They walked to the end of the temple and there was a fountain. The pipe where the water would flow out was empty. They looked at it for a moment.

"Nothing, we came here for nothing. What the hell?" Fox said, sounding annoyed that there was nothing here.

"Nothing, we came here for nothing. What the hell?" a voice said, mimicking Fox.

"Who's there?" Fox called out. They waited for a few seconds. "Show yourself." she said to the voice. Again they waited for a few more seconds. Then a head sized ball of light appeared from a hole in the wall. Everyone took a step back, remaining cautious.

"Come on mortals, you can trust me, I can't even hold a sword." the ball of light said to the group.

"What are you?" asked Azaria.

"I'm an ancient ball of light, can't ya tell. Now that you're here, we can get started."

"Started with what" Fox asked.

"Why, for the ascension." it said quickly. Everyone looked at Azaria and Azaria got nervous again. "Now if you step on that red square right there, we can begin." Azaria started walking on the square, but was stopped by Fox's hand.

"Wait, how do we know this isn't some kind of trick."

"Ew, how do we know this isn't some kind of trick." it said, mimicking Fox again.

Fox made a fist. "I got this" Azaria said to Fox and she relaxed her hand.

"Okay, but if it is I'll beat your ass"

"Okay then, step on the square." it said. Azaria placed both of her feet on the square. When she did, water began coming out of the pipe next to the fountain. The fountain was filled with life again from the flow of the water. "Now drink the water." Azaria looked at the water. She made a cup out of her hand and scooped up some water. Everyone looked at her to see if something will go wrong. She drank the water out of her hand and then her stomach began to glow from the inside. She felt a slight pain in her back. She was glowing white, then she glowed black. She continued to glow between the two colors. The light was very powerful and even startled the others. Soon she stopped glowing and then wings popped out of her back. They were weird because they were two different colors. The right wing was black while the left was white. She fell onto her knees, breathing heavily. "Oh my, I've never seen this before. Are you okay daeva?" everyone else rushed over to her to see if she was okay. Azaria's vision was getting blurry and she was feeling like she can't control her body.

"Azaria are you okay?" Fox asked as she kept tapping Azaria's shoulder. Azaria's whole body dropped to the floor and she blacked out with her wings wrapping around her.


	10. Chapter 10

Azaria's head laid in a field of grass. Her eyes opened to the sounds of birds chirping and the grass waving. There was a slight breeze that felt good on her face. The sky was nearly clear, and the air was fairly cool. The rays from the sun warmed her face and her eyes opened slowly. She was confused where she was. She sat up and looked at herself. She was wearing a long white dress that waved in the breeze. Her feet were bare, pale, and smooth. She stood up and looked around, only seeing an endless field of grass, blue sky, and warm sun light. She enjoyed the breeze hitting her face and any limbs that were exposed. She skipped in the field carefree. She past by a tree, a really tall and wide tree. It had really dark green and healthy leaves. The leaves rattled in the wind. They made a crisp sound while at the same time sounding soothing. She continued walking through the field until the ground began shaking. She instantly stopped and tried to keep her balance as the ground continued shaking. The ground beneath her began to split in two. The two parts moved away from each other, creating a fire pit down below. Azaria did not know what was happening. She fell backwards and landed on her butt. Fire blasted out of the pit which startled Azaria. She stood up and ran back. She past the tree again and hid behind it. Cracks appeared on the ground and they were getting closer to the tree. Holes were created and the world around her was falling apart. The ground beneath her collapsed and she fell. She fell and fell and then she blacked out.

Azaria woke up in a daze and a headache. She was in the same spot where she blacked out. She stood up on her knees, feeling a little weak. She looked at the stone floor beneath her. She vomited on the ground which made her feel better but at the same time like crap. Fox ran up to Azaria to go see if she was okay now. "You okay?" Fox said.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Where is everyone else?"

"Just outside, the ball said we shouldn't move you. I wouldn't want to move you with those wings in the the way."

"Me either" Azaria said. Fox handed her some kind of napkin or wipe. Azaria took it and wiped her face with it, getting rid of all the vomit still on her face. "Thanks."

"Anytime, you able to stand up?"

"I think so" Azaria said. She slowly stood up, still feeling slightly dizzy. Fox helped her move around and together they walked outside. Once outside, Azaria was fine and they could see the rest of the group looking at some of the ruined statues. They walked to go reunite with the rest of the team. Kane noticed that Fox and Azaria was behind them.

"Good to see that you're alright." Kane said as the two got close.

"Yeah, just needed to take a power nap." Azaria said.

"Well now that you're awake, you can get the hell off of my temple." the light ball said. Everyone started to walk back to the base.

"Asshole" Fox mumbled.


End file.
